Magnetic tape cassettes are widely employed for recording and playback of video and audio information both for consumer and commercial applications. A typical cassette for recording and/or playback of audio/video information in the so-called VHS format includes a generally rectangular housing formed by molded plastic upper and lower housing sections. A pair of reels are rotatably carried within the housing in general alignment with a pair of apertures in a bottom wall of the housing for engagement with external recording/playback apparatus for driving tape back and forth between the reels. An aperture in a sidewall of the housing is normally closed by a cover, which is automatically opened upon insertion of the cassette into recording/playback apparatus for affording access to a reach of the tape that extends between the reels across the sidewall aperture. Guideposts are carried by the housing for guiding the tape across the sidewall aperture between the reels.
Although magnetic tape cassettes of the described character have enjoyed substantial commercial acceptance and success, improvements remain desirable. In particular, details of construction of the cassette described above makes it very expensive for use in applications where the cassette is intended to be used a limited number of times and then discarded, such as in direct mail video advertisements. It is essential in applications of this character that the tape cassette be as inexpensive as possible.
One major cost in conventional magnetic tape cassette constructions is associated with guideposts that contact the outer or recording face of the magnetic tape as the tape traverses the sidewall aperture between the reels. Since these guideposts contact the recording surface, it is critical that the posts be precisely manufactured so as to avoid damage to information magnetically recorded on the tape or to the tape itself. Other major costs with standard magnetic tape cassettes are associated with a locking mechanism for holding the front cover closed until the tape is inserted into a recording/playback machine, with leaf springs for holding the tape against the guideposts and/or holding the reels against the bottom wall of the housing, and brake mechanisms for restraining rotation of the tape reels when the cassette is not inserted into a recording/playback machine.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a magnetic tape cassette in which the costs of production are greatly reduced as compared with conventional cassette constructions. Another and more specific object of the present invention is to provide a video tape cassette that is particularly well adapted for limited-use and disposable applications such as direct mail advertisement. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic tape cassette, particularly a video tape cassette, that exhibits improved performance in operation in terms of reducing video dropouts during recording and/or playback.